Adhesive element in cloth form

ABSTRACT

A fastening member is disclosed for use in a separable fastening device of the type including two fastening members each having an engaging surface defined by a plurality of hooking elements. At least one of the members comprises a base sheet having a plurality of resilient threads in the form of arches secured to the base sheet and extending from one surface thereof. The threads are of unitary construction and include a core portion and at least one lobe extending from the core. Each of the lobes include a plurality of serrated notches which define a multiplicity of hook-type hooking elements along each of the lobes.

United States Patent 1191 De Mestral 1 1 ADHESIVE ELEMENT IN CLOTH FORM [75] lnventor: George De Mestral, Vaud,

Switzerland [73] Assignee: Velcro S.A., Soulie, Nyon,

Switzerland [22] Filed: Apr. 8, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 132,513

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Apr. 29, 1970 Switzerland ..'-6422/70 [52] US. Cl. 24/204, 139/391 [51] Int. Cl A44b 17/00 [5 8] Field of Search 24/204, DIG. 18; 0 139/391 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1111 1 1 July 31, 1973 3,123,077 3/1964 Alcamo 24/204 3,136,026 6/1964 De Mestral 24/204 3,319,307 5/1967 Marforio 24/204 3,577,607 5/1971 Ikoma et a1 24/204 Primary Examiner-Bernard A. Gelak Attorney-Pennie, Edmonds, Morton, Taylor and Adams 57 5 ABSTRACT which define a multiplicity of hook-type hooking ele- 3,522,637 8/1970 Brumlik 24/204 3,137,054 6/1964 De Mestral..... 24/204 mems along each of the lobes 3,044,201 7/1962 Lalick 24/204 12 Claims,4 Drawing Figures PATENIEUJUm I975 v 3. 748 f 7 O l I INVENTOR. GEORGE de MESTRAL ATTORNEYS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a fastening member for use in a separable fastening device, and more particularly to a fastening member for use in a separable fastening device of the type having two members at least one of the members being provided with a base and a large number of resilient inter-engageable hooking elements extending from the base characterized in that the member includes on one surface thereof a multiplicity of small arches distributed over the entire surface, the arches being formed of threads of synthetic material having a plurality of notches distributed over their entire length.

Separable fasteners such as the hook and loop fasteners described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,009,235 are widely used for the purpose of attaching one object to another. In general, fasteners of this type include separable members each having a pile-like surface of hooking elements. Upon being pressed together in face-to-face relationship, the hooking elements of the separable members releasably interengage one another to hold the members together. In the above-mentioned U.S. patent, each separable member comprises a sheet of woven synthetic material having raised loop threads wherein the loops of one member are cut at their outer extremeties to form hook-type hooking elements while the loop threads of the other member remain uncut to form loop-type hooking elements. When these two members are pressed together in face-to-face relationship, there is a substantial engagement of the hook-type hooking elements with the loop-type hooking elements. A considerable effort must be applied to separate the members unless they are peeled apart in which case the members are separated quite easily.

Other fastening members, used particularly in separable fastening devices, are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,717,437 and 3,114,951. In some of the particular embodiments illustrated in these patents, the fastening members are constructed of a fabric having raised or flatened fibers which are provided with notches. When manufacturing these raised fiber fabric, a fabric having a plurality of the fibers in the form of loops extending from one surface of the fabric is first formed, and subsequently the loops are cut. The basic disadvantage of these members is that they require extra processing steps during manufacture, since the first operation to be performed consists of weaving a fabric with fibers in the form of loops and subsequently cutting the loops to form-the raised or flattened fibers. Furthermore, when used as a member of a fastening device a relatively weak bond is obtained.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,522,637 describes a self-gripping cloth fastening element formed of threads or filaments comprising an elongated body having a series of sharpedged hooks extending from and anchored to the elongated body and spatially staggered along the length of the body. Unlike the present invention, the self gripping element presents numerous disadvantages. First, the threads with the extending hooks are manufactured by a method which would not only be very difficult to achieve in practice, but also very costly. Furthermore, it also appears from the patent that a fastening device employing the self gripping cloth would not produce a firm grip in all directions.

It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to avoid all of the disadvantages stated hereinabove by presenting herein a description of a fastening member which provides an extremely strong bond when used in a separable fastening device and yet is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A In accordance with the present invention a fastening member for a separable type fastener comprises a base sheet and a plurality of resilient threads in the form of arches secured to the base sheet and projecting from one surface thereof. The threads are of unitary construction and include a core portion and at least one lobe extending from the core. Each lobe has a plurality of serrated notches which define a multiplicity of hooktype hooking elements along each lobe.

The present invention also includes within its scope a separable fastening device of the type including first and second fastening members each member having an engaging surface defined by a plurality of hooking elements of flexible resilient material. At least the first of the members comprises a base sheet and a plurality of resilient threads in the form of arches secured to the base sheet and projecting from one surface thereof. The threads are of unitary construction and include a core portion and at least one lobe extending from the core portion. Each lobe has a plurality of serrated notches which define a multiplicity of hook-type hooking elements along each lobe.

Both members of the fastening device in accordance with the present invention mayconsist of the fastening member as described herein, or the second member of the device may comprise a tape member having a plurality of complementary hooking elements in the form of tiny loops. In addition, each of the members may comprise threads having notches forming hook-type hooking elements as described herein in combination with a plurality of loops, both projecting from the same base. In either event, when the members of the fastening device are brought firmly into face-to-face engagement a large number of hooking elements on the first fastening member engage a large number of hooking elements on the second fastening member. The members so engaged resist separation, but may be separated readily by a peeling force applied substantially normal to the interfacial plane of engagement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The drawings show, schematically and by way of example, a preferred embodiment of the fastening element according to the present invention in which;

FIG. I is a perspective view on a greatly enlarged scale of a section of the textile fiber for manufacturing the fastening members;

FIG. 2 is a perspective cross-sectional view at enlarged scale of a fastening member;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a weaving diagram for a fastening member such as the one illustrated in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view in section showing a fastening member in combination with a loop fabric cloth.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to the drawing and specifically to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a textile fiber or thread used in manufacturing a fastening member according to the present invention. The thread of unitary construction, includes a core portion 11 which is encircled by a number of lobes 12. In the specificernbodiment shown, three lobes are illustrated (a trilobal thread). However, the number of lobes on the thread may vary and includes but is by no means limited to, as specific examples, one, two, three or more lobes. The threads 10 are preferably made of a synthetic resin material, such as polyamide threads. A specific example of a material is nylon. However, any material having the requisite degree of stiffness and resiliency may be used. For example, the fibers could be formed of glass, metal or numerous plastic materials.

The threads 10 includes a plurality of notches 13 formed at substantially regular intervals along lobes 12. These notches form a plurality of hook-type hooking elements 14 along the length of the threads. In one preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the notches 13 are distributed along each of the lobes 12 in a manner forming a spiral distribution of notches along the length of the thread.

The threads described above with reference to FIG. 1 are used for the manufacture of the fastening member in cloth form in accordance with the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 (corresponding to a satin weave) one embodiment of the present invention includes a fastening member 15 having a series of warp threads 16 comprised of ordinary threads (threads which do not have the encircled lobes). The fabric also includes a series of weft threads 17 formed of ordinary threads as described. These ordinary threads are also preferably made of synthetic resin material, such as polyamide threads, and are preferably made of the same synthetic resin material as the thread 10 described above. In addition to the ordinary threads 16, 17, the fastening member also includes a series of continuous threads l8, 19, whose construction is precisely that of threads 10 as described with reference to FIG. 1. When th member is woven, threads 18, 19 are woven in a manner so that they form arches 20.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the threads 18 include a plurality of hook-type hooking elements 14 which face in one direction along the threads while threads 19 include a plurality of hook-type hooking elements 14 which face in a direction opposite to those on threads 18. By having this type of configuration, the arches 20 formed by threads 18, 19 exhibit remarkable fastening qualities when they are pressed in face-toface relation against, for example, a fabric having a plurality of loop-type hooking elements, a fabric of jersey cloth or tricot or a second fastening member having the same configuration as shown in FIG. 2. However, the invention is in no way limited to fastening members formed of threads having hooking elements extending in two different directions, but includes fastening members whose threads have hooking elements extending in only one direction.

One specific embodiment of a fastening device in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 4 in which there is shown in simplified form two fastening members 21 and 22 in face-to-face engagement. Fastening member 21 includes threads 22 with hook-type hooking elements 23 as shown in FIG. 1 forming a plurality of arches 24. The second fastening member 22 with complementary loop-type hooking elements includes a base member 25 having projecting therefrom a plurality of multifiliment loops 26. The hook-type elements 23 on threads 22 are interengaged with the loops26 forming a strong bond which resists separation, but may be separated readily by a peeling force applied substantially normal to the interfacial plane of engagement.

The fastening member described above with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 refers basically to a fastening member whose base or backing is woven. However, the present invention is not limited to a fastening member having a woven backing, but includes a fastening member having a base sheet formed of a solid material, such as a plate formed of a plastic. When using a solid backing the threads provided with hook-type hooking elements forming arches, may be fixed to the solid backing by any of numerous methods. For example, the threads can be fixedto the backing by soldering, using an adhesive, or encasing parts of the threads in the material forming the backing.

Furthermore, in addition to the specific fastening member shown in the drawings, a fastening member entirely within the scope of the present invention may include in combination with the threads provided with notches forming hook-type elements in the form of a plurality of arches, a plurality of loops, formed of nonofiliment or multifilment ordinary threads projecting from the same surface as the hooks. The loops are distributed substantially throughout the base so as to form a fastening member having a surface defined by both hook and loop type hooking elements.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that a very effective means for use in a separable fastening device has been devised. In comparision with prior fastening devices as herein described, the fastening members according to the present invention allows for a straight weave (i.e., with no warp twist), with the elimination of delicate cutting operations. In manufacturing, the speed of weaving a fastening member as described herein is considerably greater than the speed of weaving the prior devices referred to above. The fastening member according to the present invention may be woven on looms, with no shuttle, at speeds of approximately 1,000 to 2,000 strokes per minute as compared to to 200 strokes per minute with the warp twist looms used for the prior devices. Thus, weaving may be performed by the simple means of continuous jersey, satin or loop weaving, which is not true for prior devices. Furthermore, weaving utilizing the notched threads according to the present invention allows an elastic fastening member to be made in the simplest way by simply replacing the threads with an elastic thread stretched, for example, at the time of weaving.

The fastening devices according to the present invention exhibit remarkably strong bonds in view of the very large number of hook-type hooking elements distributed over each square centimeter of the fastening member. In effect, because of the multitude of notches forming the hook-type hooking elements and their distribution on each arch, the possibility of a hook element engaging with, for example, a loop is greatly improved, since each arch simultaneously hooks onto several loops as shown in FIG. 4. Furthermore, since the means of retention provided by the hooks are on continuous threads, there is provided greater elasticity in the hooking ability of the member, thus preventing separation of two fastening members in the event of a strong momentary pull.

I claim: 1; A fastening member for a separable type fastener comprising a base sheet, a plurality of resilient threads in the form of arches secured to the base sheet and projecting from one surface thereof, substantially each thread being of unitary construction and including a core portion substantially circular in cross-section and at least one rib-like lobe integrally extending from the- 4. A flexible fastening member according to claim 1 wherein the base sheet is formed of woven synthetic material.

5. A flexible fastening member according to claim 4 wherein the threads are formed of a synthetic resin material interwoven in the base sheet.

6. A flexible fastening member according to claim 1 wherein the notches are spaced at substantially regular intervals along each lobe. I

7. A flexible fastening member according to claim 1 wherein the notches are distributed along each lobe in a manner which forms a spiral formation of the notches along the length of the threads.

8. A fastening member according to claim 1 wherein the base sheet is formed of a solid material.

9. A separablefastening device of the type including first and second fastening members each member having an engaging surface defined by a plurality of hooking elements of flexible resilient material, at least the first of the members comprising a base sheet; a plurality of resilient threads in the form of arches secured to the base sheet and projecting from one surface thereof, substantially each thread being of unitary construction and including a core portion substantially circular in cross-section and at least one rib-like lobe integrally extending from the core portion substantially the entire length of the thread, each lobe including a plurality of notches defining a" multiplicity of hook-like hooking elements along the length of each lobe.

10. A separable fastening device according to claim 9 wherein the second member comprises a base sheet and a multiplicity of loop-type hooking elements projecting therefrom.

11. A separable fastening device according to claim' 9 wherein the threads have three lobes extending from the core.

12. A separable fastening device of the type including two fastening members each member having an engaging surface defined by a plurality of hooking elements of flexible resilient material, each member comprising a base sheet, a plurality of resilient threads in the form of arches secured to the base sheet and projecting from one surface thereof, substantially each thread being of unitary construction and including a core portion substantially circular in cross-section and at least one riblike lobe integrally extending from the core portion substantially the entire length of the thread, each lobe including a plurality of notches defining a multiplicity of hook-like hooking elements along the length of each lobe. 

1. A fastening member for a separable type fastener comprising a base sheet, a plurality of resilient threads in the form of arches secured to the base sheet and projecting from one surface thereof, substantially each thread being of unitary construction and including a core portion substantially circular in crosssection and at least one rib-like lobe integrally extending from the core portion substantially the entire length of the thread, each lobe including a plurality of notches defining a multiplicity of hook-like hooking elements along the length of each lobe.
 2. A flexible fastening member according to claim 1 wherein the threads have three lobes extending from the core.
 3. A flexible fastening member according to claim 1 wherein each lobe extends from the core at substantially the same distance.
 4. A flexible fastening member according to claim 1 wherein the base sheet is formed of woven synthetic material.
 5. A flexible fastening member according to claim 4 wherein the threads are formed of a synthetic resin material interwoven in the base sheet.
 6. A flexible fastening member according to claim 1 wherein the notches are spaced at substantially reGular intervals along each lobe.
 7. A flexible fastening member according to claim 1 wherein the notches are distributed along each lobe in a manner which forms a spiral formation of the notches along the length of the threads.
 8. A fastening member according to claim 1 wherein the base sheet is formed of a solid material.
 9. A separable fastening device of the type including first and second fastening members each member having an engaging surface defined by a plurality of hooking elements of flexible resilient material, at least the first of the members comprising a base sheet; a plurality of resilient threads in the form of arches secured to the base sheet and projecting from one surface thereof, substantially each thread being of unitary construction and including a core portion substantially circular in cross-section and at least one rib-like lobe integrally extending from the core portion substantially the entire length of the thread, each lobe including a plurality of notches defining a multiplicity of hook-like hooking elements along the length of each lobe.
 10. A separable fastening device according to claim 9 wherein the second member comprises a base sheet and a multiplicity of loop-type hooking elements projecting therefrom.
 11. A separable fastening device according to claim 9 wherein the threads have three lobes extending from the core.
 12. A separable fastening device of the type including two fastening members each member having an engaging surface defined by a plurality of hooking elements of flexible resilient material, each member comprising a base sheet, a plurality of resilient threads in the form of arches secured to the base sheet and projecting from one surface thereof, substantially each thread being of unitary construction and including a core portion substantially circular in cross-section and at least one rib-like lobe integrally extending from the core portion substantially the entire length of the thread, each lobe including a plurality of notches defining a multiplicity of hook-like hooking elements along the length of each lobe. 